Mop wringer bucket

ABSTRACT

A mop wringer bucket substantially comprising a bucket, a dewatering basket within the bucket, and a driving mechanism for driving the dewatering basket. The driving mechanism imparts a rotary motion to a cleaning plate at the bottom of the bucket such that the dirt attached to the mop yarn will be effectively removed under the stirring and kneading action of the cleaning plate. Thereafter, the mop yarn is placed in the dewatering basket of the same bucket, and the water absorbed by the mop yarn is removed by the centrifugal force, thereby enhancing the cleaning effect. In addition, the symmetrical U-handles specially designed at both sides of the bucket can be horizontally disposed on the rim of the bucket or swiveled to contact with each other to create one carrying handle, thereby achieving the space-saving effect and preventing the water from escaping from the bucket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a mop wringer bucket, and more particularly to a wringer bucket with which the bundle of mop yarn can be both cleaned and dewatered.

2. Description of the Related Art

Mop is one of the cleaning tools used for cleaning a floor, and traditional wringer buckets are used for removing extra water from the mop, and the traditional wringer buckets generally squeeze fabrics of the mop to remove water on the mop fabrics. As disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. No. M338634, a wringer bucket 50 includes a casing 51, an installing portion 52, and a rotating unit 53, wherein the rotating unit 53 includes a retaining element, an axle, a transmission unit and a push rod unit, such that interactions between the aforementioned components drive a dewatering basket 54 in rotation to dewater the mop 60. However, the assembly of the wringer bucket 50 has its own basic drawbacks. That is, the wringer bucket 50 provides only a room 55 for cleaning the mop 60 in vertical direction.

In fact, the dirty mop 60 can't be really cleaned if it is only cleaned in the direction of Y−Y. In other words, the dirt attached to the mop yarn 61 can't be removed from the mop yarn 61 only in this way. Moreover, the effect to clean the mop yarn 61 with the conventional wringer bucket is limited.

Besides, the mop yarn 61 becomes dirtier due to its repeated contact with the dirt settled at the bottom of the conventional wringer bucket.

In addition, the handle of the conventional wringer bucket is placed at one side of the bucket, thereby occupying more space than the bucket. Therefore, it causes difficulties in storage, transportation, and packaging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a wringer bucket for cleaning the mop in which a cleaning plate is provided for enhancing the mop-cleaning effect. As a result, the mop may be completely cleaned by the wringer bucket of the invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wringer bucket for cleaning the mop that is specially designed to occupy less space.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the invention includes:

a) a bucket having an opening at the top thereof, a cavity being formed at the front side of the bottom of the bucket;

b) a dewatering basket installed within the bucket above the cavity; and

c) a driving mechanism positioned in the cavity for driving the dewatering basket;

wherein the driving mechanism includes:

i) a base having two supports at both side thereof, a shaft hole being formed at the top of the supports, respectively, a first positioning hole and a second positioning hole being formed in the base, a guide slot being defined by a plurality of confining pieces;

ii) a toothed rack positioned on the base and movable to and from within the guide slot, the toothed rack having at the front side thereof a first toothed portion directed upwards and at the rear side thereof a second toothed portion directed inwards at 90°, a return spring being installed at the rear side of the toothed rack for imparting a forward return force to the toothed rack;

iii) a pedal provided with a bolt sleeve at both sides of the front end thereof, two cross bolts fitting into the bolt sleeves in place, an extension member being extended from one side of the pedal toward its bottom, an arched groove being formed on the extension member;

iv) an arched rack positioned at the internal rim of the extension member and under the arched groove, the arched rack having a lower toothed portion at the bottom side thereof and an upper toothed portion at the bottom side thereof, the lower toothed portion being engaged with the first toothed portion of the toothed rack;

v) a primary bevel gear positioned parallel to the supports and provided with an axial gear adapted to engage with the upper toothed portion at the external side of a shaft hole of the primary bevel gear, a shaft fitting into the shaft hole being fixed on the supports in place;

vi) a secondary bevel gear is secured by a long shaft with its bottom portion fitting into the first positioning hole of the base such that the secondary bevel gear is engaged with the primary bevel gear, the top of the long shaft jutting out of the cavity and fitting into a connection seat at the bottom of the dewatering basket; and

vii) a pinion secured by a short shaft with its bottom portion fitting into the second positioning hole of the base, the top of the short shaft jutting out of the cavity and fitting into a connection seat at the bottom of a cleaning plate within the bucket for imparting a rotary motion to the cleaning plate in the bucket, whereby, in trampling the pedal, both the dewatering basket and the cleaning plate can be rotated by the arched rack, thereby achieving the cleaning and dewatering effects.

According to the invention, the driving mechanism imparts a rotary motion to a cleaning plate at the bottom of the bucket such that the dirt attached to the mop yarn will be effectively removed under the stirring and kneading action of the cleaning plate. Thereafter, the mop yarn is placed in the dewatering basket of the same bucket, and the water absorbed by the mop yarn is removed by the centrifugal force, thereby enhancing the cleaning effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following descriptions and its accompanying figures of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mop wringer bucket according to the Taiwan patent application No. M338634;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective assembly view of the mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cutaway view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cutaway view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing of the mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention, showing the process in cleaning the mop;

FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing of the mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention, showing the process in dewatering the mop; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic drawing of the mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention, showing that the handles are swiveled to contact with each other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

First of all, referring to FIGS. 2 through 7, an embodiment of a mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention includes a bucket 10, a dewatering basket 20, and a driving mechanism 30.

The bucket 10 includes an opening 11 at the top thereof. A cavity 12 is formed at the front side of the bottom of the bucket 10.

The dewatering basket 20 is installed within the bucket 10 above the cavity 12.

The driving mechanism 30 is positioned in the cavity 12 for driving the dewatering basket 20. The driving mechanism 30 includes a base 31, a toothed rack 32, a pedal 33, an arched rack 34, a primary bevel gear 35, a secondary bevel gear 36, and a pinion 38.

The base 31 includes two supports 311 at both sides thereof. A shaft hole 312 is formed at the top of the supports 311, respectively. Moreover, a first positioning hole 313 and a second positioning hole 314 are formed in the base 31. A guide slot 316 is defined by a plurality of confining pieces 315.

The toothed rack 32 is positioned on the base 31 and movable to and from within the guide slot 316. The toothed rack 32 includes at the front side thereof a first toothed portion 321 directed upwards and at the rear side thereof a second toothed portion 322 directed inwards at 90°. Besides, a return spring 323 is installed at the rear side of the toothed rack 32 for imparting a forward return force to the toothed rack 32.

The pedal 33 is provided with a bolt sleeve 331 at both sides of the front end thereof. Two cross bolts 332 fit into the bolt sleeves 331 in place. An extension member 333 is extended from one side of the pedal 33 toward its bottom. Meanwhile, an arched groove 334 is formed on the extension member 333.

The arched rack 34 is positioned at the internal rim of the extension member 333 and under the arched groove 334. The arched rack 34 includes a lower toothed portion 341 at the bottom side thereof and an upper toothed portion 342 at the bottom side thereof. The lower toothed portion 341 is engaged with the first toothed portion 321 of the toothed rack 32.

The primary bevel gear 35 is positioned parallel to the supports 311 and provided with an axial gear 351 adapted to engage with the upper toothed portion 342 at the external side of a shaft hole 352 of the primary bevel gear 35. A shaft 352 fitting into the shaft hole 352 is fixed on the supports 311 in place.

The secondary bevel gear 36 is secured by a long shaft 37 with its bottom portion fitting into the first positioning hole 313 of the base 31 such that the secondary bevel gear 36 is engaged with the primary bevel gear 35. The top of the long shaft 37 juts out of the cavity 12 and fits into a connection seat 21 at the bottom of the dewatering basket 20.

The pinion 38 is secured by a short shaft 39 with its bottom portion fitting into the second positioning hole 314 of the base 31. The top of the short shaft 39 juts out of the cavity 12 and fits into a connection seat 41 at the bottom of a cleaning plate 40 within the bucket 10 for imparting a rotary motion to the cleaning plate 40 in the bucket 10.

In, trampling the pedal 33, both the dewatering basket 20 and the cleaning plate 40 can be rotated by the arched rack 34, thereby achieving the cleaning and dewatering effects.

The action of the operation will be described as follows: In trampling the pedal 33, the pedal 33 rotates on the cross bolts 332 in the pedal bolt sleeves 331, thereby imparting a fan-shaped motion to the arched rack 34. At that time, the first toothed portion 321 of the toothed rack 32 will be driven by the lower toothed portion 341 in a linear and inward motion. At the same time, the second toothed portion 322 imparts a rotary motion to the pinion 38 and the short shaft 39, thereby driving the cleaning plate 40 at the internal bottom of the bucket 10 in rotation. As shown in FIG. 8, the mop 60 is placed on the top of the cleaning plate 40. The dirt attached to the mop yarn 61 will be removed under the stirring and kneading action for the cleaning purpose. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9, it is placed on the dewatering basket 20 for the dewatering purpose. At the same time, the axial gear 351 at the internal side of the primary bevel gear 35 is driven by the upper toothed portion 342, thereby imparting a rotary motion to the primary bevel gear 35. Meanwhile, the secondary bevel gear 36 is indirectly driven in rotation. Furthermore, the dewatering basket 20 at the top of the long shaft 37 will be rotated, thereby removing the mop yarn 61 under the influence of the centrifugal force.

The mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention skillfully employs a driving mechanism 30 to impart a rotary motion to the cleaning plate 40 and the dewatering basket 20, thereby ensuring a practical use.

Another feature of the mop wringer bucket in accordance with the invention lies in that two pivot holes 13 are positioned at the front and rear ends of the opening of the bucket 10 such that projections 141 at the internal end of two symmetrical U-handles 14 fit into the pivot holes 13 to create a pivotal connection. Moreover, the U-handle 14 is provided with an extension portion 142 at the central and internal side thereof such that the U-handles 14 can be separately placed at both side rims of the opening when they horizontally lie down on the bucket 10. To the contrary, both of the U-handles 14 create a carrying handle when they are swiveled in a vertical position to contact with each other.

As shown in FIG. 10, the U-handles 14 are swiveled upward until they are in contact with each other when in use. To the contrary, they are lowered to be placed on the rim of the bucket 10 when not in use. In this way, less space will be occupied. Moreover, in cleaning the mop, the water within the bucket 10 is not easily escaped from the bucket 10, thereby fulfilling many functions. 

1. A mop wringer bucket, comprising: a) a bucket having an opening at the top thereof, a cavity being formed at the front side of the bottom of the bucket; b) a dewatering basket installed within the bucket above the cavity; and c) a driving mechanism positioned in the cavity for driving the dewatering basket; wherein the driving mechanism includes: i) a base having two supports at both side thereof, a shaft hole being formed at the top of the supports, respectively, a first positioning hole and a second positioning hole being formed in the base, a guide slot being defined by a plurality of confining pieces; ii) a toothed rack positioned on the base and movable to and from within the guide slot, the toothed rack having at the front side thereof a first toothed portion directed upwards and at the rear side thereof a second toothed portion directed inwards at 90°, a return spring being installed at the rear side of the toothed rack for imparting a forward return force to the toothed rack; iii) a pedal provided with a bolt sleeve at both sides of the front end thereof, two cross bolts fitting into the bolt sleeves in place, an extension member being extended from one side of the pedal toward its bottom, an arched groove being formed on the extension member; iv) an arched rack positioned at the internal rim of the extension member and under the arched groove, the arched rack having a lower toothed portion at the bottom side thereof and an upper toothed portion at the bottom side thereof, the lower toothed portion being engaged with the first toothed portion of the toothed rack; v) a primary bevel gear positioned parallel to the supports and provided with an axial gear adapted to engage with the upper toothed portion at the external side of a shaft hole of the primary bevel gear, a shaft fitting into the shaft hole being fixed on the supports in place; vi) a secondary bevel gear is secured by a long shaft with its bottom portion fitting into the first positioning hole of the base such that the secondary bevel gear is engaged with the primary bevel gear, the top of the long shaft jutting out of the cavity and fitting into a connection seat at the bottom of the dewatering basket; and vii) a pinion secured by a short shaft with its bottom portion fitting into the second positioning hole of the base, the top of the short shaft jutting out of the cavity and fitting into a connection seat at the bottom of a cleaning plate within the bucket for imparting a rotary motion to the cleaning plate in the bucket, whereby, in trampling the pedal, both the dewatering basket and the cleaning plate can be rotated by the arched rack, thereby achieving the cleaning and dewatering effects.
 2. The mop wringer bucket as recited in claim 1 wherein two pivot holes are positioned at the front and rear ends of the opening of the bucket such that projections at the internal end of two symmetrical U-handles fit into the pivot holes to create a pivotal connection, and wherein the U-handle is provided with an extension portion at the central and internal side thereof such that the U-handles can be separately placed at both side rims of the opening when they horizontally lie down on the bucket, and wherein both of the U-handles create a carrying handle when they are swiveled in a vertical position to contact with each other.
 3. The mop wringer bucket as recited in claim 1 wherein the surface of the cleaning plate is provided with a plurality of radial ribs. 